From the time Li Chi had departed Jizhou on his northern inspection to the time he returned, roughly three months had passed.

By the time he arrived back in Jizhou, the new year was nearly upon them again.

Life moved so swiftly — year after year, and looking back, everything seemed as if it had happened only yesterday.

Even Li Chi, still not yet twenty years old, often found himself quietly saddened by how fast the years went.

Fortunately, every time he looked in a mirror, he could confirm he was still young and handsome.

And that never failed to impress him deeply.

Jizhou City.

The moment Li Chi entered the city, he set about arranging military affairs — mobilizing forces and organizing the grain and supply convoys heading south to Yuzhou.

Though Yuzhou was a region of rich agricultural output, Li Chi’s decision to send provisions there was still entirely necessary.

First, it would tell the soldiers fighting in the south that resupply would never stop coming.

Second, it would show the people of the newly surrendered Yuzhou that Prince Ning’s forces had deep reserves.

By the time all the arrangements were settled, it was deep into the night. Only as he was leaving the barracks did he notice that Zhang Tang had been waiting outside all along.

Li Chi’s carriage passed along the main street, the sound of wheels over stone paving crisp and clear in the late-night stillness.

Inside the carriage, Li Chi glanced at Zhang Tang. “You stood outside the barracks all day without sending word in — just waited until I came out. And you haven’t eaten or drunk anything all day?”

Zhang Tang bowed. “In answer to Prince Ning — I did not dare interrupt your military business, so I waited outside. And since I did not know when you would emerge, I waited as long as necessary. Indeed… I have had nothing to eat or drink.”

Li Chi said, “Neither have I.”

He opened the carriage window and looked out. The shops on the street had long since closed. This far past midnight, the only place that might still have food was a pleasure house.

Li Chi closed the window. “When we get back, I’ll cook some noodles. We can eat together.”

He asked Zhang Tang, “What did you want to see me about?”

Zhang Tang reached into his robe and produced a bound folio, presenting it with both hands. “On the journey from Youzhou, I wrote down my thoughts on what would be needed. Please take a look, my lord.”

Li Chi took it and opened it — and his expression shifted almost immediately.

What Zhang Tang had written in the folio was a catalogue of interrogation techniques. One per page. Thirty-six pages. Thirty-six methods.

Back in Youzhou, Li Chi had already witnessed Zhang Tang’s ruthlessness firsthand.

But looking at these methods now, he realized that what he had seen was barely a fraction of it.

As Li Chi read, he asked, “Why did your mind turn to these?”

Zhang Tang replied, “These are the tools of my position, and the path a vassal takes. You placed me within the Tingwei Corps, so I presumed that what would be needed from me was exactly what I am best at — and so I dared not be idle for even a moment during the journey. I am glad it has amounted to something.”

Li Chi exhaled slowly. Method after method — the catalogue left him genuinely taken aback.

He turned to the back pages, where Zhang Tang had written detailed proposals for reorganizing the Intelligence Guard and the Tingwei Corps — many unexpected, inventive ideas that truly opened the eyes.

Li Chi looked at Zhang Tang. “You want me to give you a defined assignment?”

Zhang Tang bowed. “Your servant is bold enough to request a task from you, my lord.”

Li Chi said, “Speak.”

Zhang Tang sat up straight, his expression composed. “Your servant has been thinking — the remnants of the Shanhe Seal faction within Jizhou are not yet fully rooted out. But your attention must go to the southern campaigns. If your energy is split between these two matters, the trade-off is not worthwhile.”

“What matters to you, my lord, should be the realm — not merely the Shanhe Seal. The realm is the ink; the Shanhe Seal is only a shadow in the distance.”

“And so your servant requests this assignment: the task of hunting down the remaining Shanhe Seal members throughout Jizhou — let me handle it.”

Li Chi considered for a moment, then said, “I would never withhold important work from you simply because you’ve only just joined me, nor dismiss you because you’re not yet twenty. But you should understand — your knowledge of many things within Jizhou is still limited. Good intentions alone…”

Zhang Tang bowed. “Forgive your servant’s presumption, my lord — please allow me one more word.”

Li Chi said, “Go ahead.”

Zhang Tang sat up straight again and drew a slow breath.

“Prince Ning. From Youzhou to Jizhou is a journey of sixteen days. Before I left Youzhou, I asked General Xiahou for a full list of Youzhou’s officials — their names and where they came from. It took me four days to commit them all to memory.”

“After that, at every prefecture and county I passed through, I memorized the names and backgrounds of every official there as well. Writing this catalogue of interrogation methods did not take all my time — on this journey, I slept no more than two hours each night.”

He said it all in one breath, then paused before continuing. “Your servant comes from nothing. I know that my learning is not enough to earn your trust outright. Only by working twice as hard as anyone else can I prove myself worthy of the trust you have placed in me.”

Li Chi started. “You—”

“Please let me finish.”

Zhang Tang said, “Your servant believes that the most suitable work for me is exactly this — investigation and interrogation. I have three reasons.”

He looked at Li Chi steadily. “First, your servant was an orphan, raised in poverty. I have no family ties. No one can threaten me through my kin. And I have already made a vow: for the rest of my life, I will neither marry nor have children.”

“Second, those who do this work must resist not only threats but temptations. From the time I left Youzhou, I have been going each day to the Shen Medical Hall to obtain medicine — and have taken it every day for sixteen days. I will continue to take it daily. It suppresses desire. Women hold no pull for me. I have already spoken frankly with the Chief Tingwei about my salary: there is no need to pay me. The Tingwei Corps provides food and clothing — I need no money. I have no attachment to gold or silver.”

By this point, Li Chi’s eyes had gone wide.

“Third, your servant understands that to carry this work, I must bring out the best of what I am capable of. When I find what I am looking for, I will dig to the very last inch and leave no trace undisturbed. Your servant…”

Before he could finish, Li Chi interrupted him.

“Stop taking that medicine!”

Zhang Tang went still — and then an expression of overwhelmed astonishment came over his face.

“My lord.”

Zhang Tang bowed low, pressing his forehead to the floor of the carriage.

“Before this, your servant was recruited into the Intelligence Guard by Commander Gang Gang. He told me: the Intelligence Guard holds to three things — loyalty to Prince Ning, faithfulness to one’s brothers, and the thorough destruction of evil.”

He raised his head and looked at Li Chi. “This is what your servant wishes for.”

Li Chi said, “Then you don’t need to destroy yourself in the process.”

Zhang Tang shook his head. “My lord — do you know why people make mistakes? Because of desire. Your servant is no sage. I cannot simply have no desires. So I choose the harder path — to control them by force. You are kind to me, my lord, and your servant is profoundly grateful. But my lord… you need someone like me.”

For the first time in his life, Li Chi was shaken to his core by another person’s sheer ruthlessness.

Zhang Tang pressed his forehead to the floor. “I ask my lord to grant this.”

Li Chi was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded. “From this day forward, you are the Qianban of the Tingwei Corps. I will speak with the Chief Tingwei — a separate unit will be formed and placed under your command.”

Zhang Tang pressed his forehead down again. “Thank you, my lord!”

Li Chi didn’t know what more to say. Zhang Tang had made his choices, and there was nothing Li Chi could do to talk him out of them.

Two days later.

The Tingwei Corps garrison.

Three hundred soldiers in black armor stood arrayed in the courtyard, still as stone.

Zhang Tang, dressed in a black Qianban’s brocade robe, strode in through the gate.

Every soldier bowed at once. “We pay our respects to Qianban Zhang.”

Zhang Tang raised a hand. “Stand straight and listen.”

“You may not know me yet. I will introduce myself in three sentences.”

“One — my name is Zhang Tang. Qianban Zhang Tang. Head of the Tingwei Corps Penal Division.”

“Two — from this day forward, I say what goes. You execute. No questioning. Those who defy orders will be dealt with under the laws of the Penal Division.”

“Three — I will lead you to dig out every person in this territory who harbors treacherous intent toward Prince Ning.”

He paused there and swept his gaze across all of them.

“Now — three tasks.”

He said in a carrying voice, “First — I was formerly of the Intelligence Guard, and now serve the Tingwei Corps. I have authority to draw on both. Send men to the Intelligence Guard — request that Commander Yu provide every intelligence archive accumulated over recent years. All of it to be copied out twice. Then send men to the Chief Tingwei to collect the Tingwei Corps’ archives as well — all of it copied out twice. You are all literate. Half of you will begin on this at once. Ten days. It must be done.”

“Yes, sir!”

The assembled Tingwei answered as one.

Zhang Tang said, “Second — I have personally designed a number of interrogation instruments. Within ten days, you will build all of them from the diagrams.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Third — ten days from now, I will lead you out of Jizhou City. This deployment has no set return date. Perhaps six months. Perhaps three years or five. If any of you find this difficult to accept, now is the time to say so.”

“We follow your command, Qianban!”

Zhang Tang gave a nod. “Go and get to work. The longer you serve under me, the more you’ll come to understand how ruthless I am — and how well I will treat you for it.”

He waved a hand. “Dismissed!”

“Hah!”

Three hundred soldiers answered, then turned and dispersed.

Alone in the courtyard, Zhang Tang looked down at the brocade robe he was wearing. His eyes drifted, far away.

After a long moment, he lifted his hand and, almost without thinking, ran his fingers gently across the fabric.

Along the woven texture of the brocade, the patterns and stitching — it was as though he was taking in every thread of it.

Meanwhile, at the prince’s residence.

Yu Jiuling looked at Li Chi. “My lord, there may be some concerns about activating Zhang Tang.”

Li Chi said, “Say them.”

Yu Jiuling said, “He’s too ruthless. Sending him to sweep through hundreds of prefectures and counties across Jizhou — he’ll leave a trail of blood wherever he goes.”

Li Chi said, “That is precisely what I had intended to do myself.”

Yu Jiuling said, “I’m only worried that this man, suddenly given power, might… might go too far.”

“I’ve heard that before he left Youzhou, he specifically went and found the people who had treated him badly there — and put each of them through their paces.”

Yu Jiuling said, “A man with that kind of disposition — petty about every slight — once resentment takes root in him, he might turn it back on us.”

“And then there’s this — if he kills too heavily along the way, I’m worried he’ll destabilize Jizhou.”

Li Chi listened to all of it and then gave a quiet sigh. “Nine-ling — you are the Commander of the Intelligence Guard.”

Yu Jiuling went still, then understood. He nodded. “Understood.”

Some days later, Zhang Tang came to take his leave. All preparations were complete, and he was ready to depart Jizhou and begin his survey of the territories.

He knelt before Li Chi, his forehead pressed to the floor.

His posture was a little unusual — perhaps because he genuinely held Li Chi in deep awe, he had collapsed so low that his forehead was flush against the ground while his knees were pulled up behind him, leaving his backside somewhat elevated.

“I await your instructions, my lord.”

Li Chi said, “You know your own mind. I have little to add. If I must say one thing — treat your people well.”

Zhang Tang replied, “Your servant will remember this.”

Li Chi said, “Answer me one question. If your answer is satisfactory, you may leave immediately. If it is not, this departure will need further discussion.”

Zhang Tang, head still against the floor, said, “Please ask, my lord.”

Li Chi walked to stand before Zhang Tang and asked, “On this journey — what is it that you are working for?”

Even as he asked, Li Chi felt a flicker of uncertainty. If Zhang Tang answered *this mission is entirely for you, my lord* — then Li Chi truly could not let him leave like this.

This blade was simply too sharp.

“Today I set out — for the people of Jizhou.”

Zhang Tang, still in that bowed posture, replied, “Only by clearing out the dangers, pulling up the roots of corruption, can the people of Jizhou truly live in peace. Only then can the affairs of Jizhou truly endure in good order.”

“The foundation of your reign, my lord, lies in governance of the people. And the stability of that governance lies in governance of your officials. When officials are rewarded and punished with clarity, and held to the measure of what they deserve, then the people can be at ease.”

“What your servant goes to do — is to make it so that when the people of this land speak of the officials serving under your banner, there will not be one name among them that is that of a corrupt official.”

Li Chi exhaled, long and slow.

He turned, and waved a hand. “Go ahead.”

Zhang Tang raised himself upright, then pressed his forehead to the floor once more. “Your servant receives the order.”

—